As the countdown to the 2012 Olympics continues, Canterbury City Council has launched a photo exhibition to help raise the profile of its local Olympic hopefuls: Harriett Yea (basketball), Dan Ritchie (rowing), Keziah Gore (rhythmic gymnastics) and Susanna Townsend and Jen Wilson (both hockey), and the Paralympic hopefuls are Helen Sole (sitting volleyball) and Nathan Milgate (target shooting). They were all either born in or train and compete in the area.
The 12 month mobile marketing campaign will see images of the seven athletes displayed at high-profile sites across the area for a few weeks at a time. It is hoped to raise awareness and garner more support from local residents for their district’s sporting talent, and ultimately to secure sponsorship for the athletes.
Each image will show the athletes against a backdrop of one of the area’s iconic locations. These will include Canterbury Cathedral, St. Augustine’s Abbey and Reculver Towers. First on display at the Horsebridge Centre in Whitstable on Saturday 23rd July to coincide with the start of the Whitstable Oyster Festival, they will be moving to Macari’s coffee shop in Herne Bay for the town’s festival later in August. After that they will be touring the area to enable as many people to see them as possible.
Cllr Darren Ellis, the council’s executive member for sport, had this to say, “It’s incredible that a district as small as Canterbury could potentially have seven athletes competing at the Olympic or Paralympic Games next year, because some entire counties have fewer than that.”
“The aim is to make our residents proud of their athletes and to raise their profile as much as possible, because they are fantastic role models. We particularly hope young people will be inspired to take up a sport as a result of this project.”
“We should also remember these athletes are amateurs and the cost of the pursuit of excellence is considerable. It would be a lovely bonus if some of the athletes were offered sponsorship off the back of this initiative.”
Full profiles of the athletes are at www.activecanterbury.org.
